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I feigned a yawn. “You’re not very original, are you? You already broke an arm yesterday, can’t you come up with something better?”
He actually had the gall to laugh. “Surely you’re not going to climb up there on your high horse and defend your roommate, are you? Why do you even care what happens to her?”
I shot him a withering look. “Probably because I’m a decent human being. What did she do this time, forget to iron your socks?”
He shrugged, his bored expression implying he was already tired of this conversation. “Who knows? I don’t even remember. Must not have been very important. Like her.”
“You’re such a piece of shit, Drew,” I seethed.
“Oh yeah?” he taunted, his bored expression replaced by a smirk. “And what are you going to do about it?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I suppose I could just report it. I’ll admit, I didn’t read the campus handbook cover to cover, but I’m pretty sure there was a zero-tolerance policy on violence in there.”
He snorted. “You think anyone would actually believe you?”
I met his eyes. “Would they need to? Getting accused isn’t a good look for you. And I seem to recall a black eye a month or so back. Not to mention a knife you pulled at a certain bar at one point. That’s what, four witnesses to your violent behavior? Five, including me?” I fingered my sleeve where his knife had cut through. “And I’ve got a scar to prove it.”
His eyes turned dark, and his voice lowered. “Your dumb scar proves nothing. Julie’s not going to say a word. Neither will those three brainless morons you’ve been hanging around. They didn’t defend you then and they won’t now. And you…” He leaned in closer. “You aren’t going to say anything either.”
He was a bully, there was no doubt about that, and he’d made threats before, but I was pretty sure that was all they were. Even the incident with Garrett had been an accident. I refused to let him get to me.
“I’m not afraid of you like your girlfriend is,” I informed him. “And I don’t know what you think you have over the guys, but you have nothing over me.”
He stared at me for a long moment, seconds ticking by as I glared, and then the air seemed to rush out of him. He scooted his chair over so it was right next to mine, and when he spoke again, there was no threat in it, no bravado at all. Only simple, emotionless words. “Look, Camilla. I know there are rumors about nearly every kid in this place. Some of them are true, and some aren’t. You seem to try to stay away from rumors, and I don’t know if that’s admirable or foolish, but either way, let me clue you in. My family belongs to an organization that has the kind of power and protection you can’t even imagine. Nobody touches them. I’m not just saying we have good lawyers or pay off cops, I’m saying nobody touches them. I watched my older brother shoot someone for the first time when I was six years old. Six, you get it?”
My breath caught, but I didn’t move, just let him speak.
“When I was fourteen, that same brother was killed by someone high up in a rival organization, and I watched my mother fall to pieces and my father nearly wreck his life vowing revenge on the people who killed his oldest son. I am here, in this school, because it gives me the opportunity to help my family. So, look, I know you’re full of outrage and righteous indignation, and you want to defend the honor of someone you think is your friend. But you’d better believe me when I say that I will do anything I have to in order to stay here. And if you get in my way, I’ll kill you.”
The professor chose that moment to walk in, and Drew smoothly slid his chair back over to his desk while I took the opportunity to try to figure out how to breathe again. Goosebumps pricked my skin from head to toe, and I didn’t even dare to glance his way before shakily pulling my notebook out of my bag.
I didn’t know why I’d bothered though; I didn’t catch more than five words of the lecture. My mind was too busy replaying Drew’s words over and over in my head. He had finally let me see who he really was.
I’d let my guard down here, started to think of these kids as nothing more than normal students with an obscene amount of wealth and privilege. But I’d been wrong. I was out of my league.
26
“Why do plants hate—hey, are you okay?” Devan peered at me closely.
Startled, I tried to wipe away whatever expression he saw on my face, but I still felt shaken.
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “Just had a bit of a weird encounter, that’s all.”
“How so?” He pulled a candy bar out of his bag and handed me a square of chocolate. I took it gratefully and popped it into my mouth, then shook my head.
“Really, it was nothing. I’m fine. Tell me the rest of your joke.”
Drew was in our chemistry class too, and while I knew he couldn’t hear me halfway across the room, I didn’t dare say a word with him here. Devan’s presence was an undeniable comfort though, so I turned my attention to him.
“Why do plants hate math?” he asked, pausing while I shook my head. “Because it gives them square roots.” He slapped his hand on the lab table, and I mustered a laugh, but it must not have been convincing. He looked at me again, and I could feel his eyes analyzing my face.
“What are you doing after class?” he asked, and I blinked.
“Nothing. I’m done after this.”
“Good, me too. You wanna take a walk?”
I stared. “Take a walk? It’s been raining for days and it’s not even fifty degrees out there.”
